Futures Down a Fraction; GameStop Falling

By Sam Mamudi

Bloomberg

There’s no business like agribusiness

Stock futures are down a fraction ahead of Tuesday’s bell; the New Year/fiscal deal exuberance seems to be well and truly behind us.

Shares of video game retailer GameStop (GME) are falling hard, down more than 10%, after it reported bleak holiday sales results. GameStop said sales in the nine weeks to Dec. 29 were down 4.6% from 2011, with same-store sales dropping 4.4%. It added that its fourth quarter results will be at the lower end of its previously-issued guidance.

GameStop faces some long-term issues, not least competition from online retailers and downloadable content straight to video game consoles, but at least some of the holiday decline can be put at the feet of the industry itself — as it nears the end of this cycle for existing machines, blockbuster games are declining in both quantity and quality. This year is expected to deliver new consoles from both Microsoft (MSFT) and Sony (SNE).

Also falling are Dollar Tree‘s (DLTR) stock and shares of YUM Brands (YUM), both about 4%. In the case of YUM, the drop is likely due to it lowering its already-lowered outlook for sales in China.

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Earnings reports, corporate strategies and analyst insights are all part of what moves stocks, and they’re all covered by the Stocks to Watch blog. We also look at macro issues, investor sentiments and hidden trends that are affecting the market. Stocks to Watch gives you the full picture of the U.S. stock markets, all day long.

The blog is written by Ben Levisohn, a former stock trader who has covered financial markets for the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and BusinessWeek.